Benefits – Simplicity, Service, Savings

Simplicity

Staff are Freed Up for more Valuable Tasks

Until now, the technical support and operational load has only increased with the complexity of the batch processing system. With ThruPut Manager using Production Control Services, operations, production control, and technical support are relieved of tedious and error prone tasks, knowing the system will automatically handle many situations they previously needed to attend to manually and alert them to any events they need to take action on.

Your production control staff are freed up for more valuable tasks such as problem solving activities like dealing with rerun/restart events and strategic initiatives to improve the production control environment.

Simplify CA 7 Database Maintenance

ThruPut Manager automatically determines, with each run of a job, the characteristics of the job and all its dataset, tape drive and software needs. With this information and its built-in automation, ThruPut Manager eliminates the need to:

Define negative dependencies for the purposes of preventing dataset conflicts.

Define resource counts for VRM.

Define job priorities on a job-by-job basis.

Define deadline or due-out times for jobs other than headers, trailers and milestone jobs.

Service

Completing Your Schedule on Time

With ThruPut Manager utilizing Production Control Services, the z/OS execution environment understands CA 7 dependencies, priorities and due-out times. Production Control gets the results they need with minimal intervention in the job execution process.

ThruPut Manager continuously assesses the critical path and monitors its performance. JES2 job selection and many other processes are automatically influenced to give priority to critical path work and to act in accordance with CA 7 priorities. The production schedule is met, and in an optimal manner.

Handling the Difficult Periods

The intelligence of the ThruPut Manager solution is evident in that it recognizes that escalation follows a common pattern based on complex and fluctuating variables. To intervene manually is a fluid and complex task. ThruPut Manager has internalized these complexities in its battle plan and meticulously keeps track of the state of the workload. It is in the perfect position to ensure that the appropriate workload gets priority. In unusual circumstances such as when a processor has been down and it is not possible to meet all the deadlines, ThruPut Manager makes the best trade-offs to ensure only the lowest priority work will be impacted.

TM manages through these tight situations according to policies that are established in advance. It can assess and react to the situation faster than an operator, as well as execute more complex responses in a timely manner. This leads to fewer “on the fly” decisions and fewer human errors.

Easing of Batch Window Constraints

Production batch can be processed in a shorter elapsed time with ThruPut Manager staging volumes and recalls before job submission, managing job selection, eliminating execution delays, controlling resources, optimizing system load and eliminating interference. These system-oriented improvements and internal efficiencies reduce overall execution time and ease batch window constraints.

Savings

Besides the ability to process increased workloads in the same batch window and therefore defer a CPU upgrade, ThruPut Manager utilizing Production Control Services provides other opportunities to save money and reduce costs:

With improved workload distribution tools, you may be able to reduce your software licenses, while complying with vendor conditions and keeping your software maintenance procedures straightforward.

Tape utilization is improved with ThruPut Manager and may allow you to defer upgrades in this area.

Since ThruPut Manager can prioritize your workload, you may be able to reduce your defined capacity to reduce your CPU charges, and all the associated software charges.

Staff costs are contained. With virtually no exits and workarounds to maintain, the system programmer load is reduced. With less manual intervention, operator load is reduced. With less scheduler database maintenance, production control effort is reduced, and, with less complexity and greater transparency, the management task is simplified.